Questor Insurance News

UK tourism industry set to benefit from Brexit vote

The UK tourism industry is set to be one of the first sectors to benefit from June’s Brexit vote, due to a continued surge in the amount of “staycations”.

The sector was already seeing a surge in growth during the three months that led up to the referendum, however the drop in the Pound since the Brexit vote has added further momentum to the tourist economy in the UK, according to the business recovery group Begbies Traynor.

As a result of the weaker pound, international travel has become more expensive for British families, encouraging more to stay and vacation on home soil.

Currency fluctuations have also made travelling to the UK from the US and from Europe particularly more affordable, helping incoming tourists to get more for their money.

“Despite the typically unpredictable British weather over the past three months, our data shows that levels of ‘significant’ financial distress actually decreased across all key sectors of the UK tourism industry in the lead up to the Brexit vote, suggesting the sector is in rude health ahead of its vital summer season,” said Begbies Traynor Partner Julie Palmer.

Figures released by TravelSupermarket estimated that the 10% drop of the pound against the euro, means an average family will have to fork out an additional £245 for a holiday in Europe.

Some UK activity and travel firms have already felt the benefit of the Brexit vote though. GO Outdoors has revealed that its camping gear sales have seen an increase of 53%, whilst tents alone were up over 34%.

Independent hotel group Best Western has also reported an uplift in bookings from international tourists following the result of the Brexit vote and was hoping to see an improvement on the current 5% rise from UK-based guests in the coming weeks

If you’re thinking of travelling around Britain this year, be sure to organise your budget travel insurance in advance